Aug 19, 2013 02:59 PM EDT By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

Walter Martinez, a rising sophomore at George Mason University (GMU), is one of many college photo enthusiast inspired by the popular photoblog Humans of New York.

Martinez told the Huffington Post taking photos of random strangers helped him overcome his fears and posting them online helped him build confidence. Humans of George Mason University is one of many copycat projects at schools in Houston, Detroit, Miami, Seattle, Brown University, Simon Fraser, Lehman and Reed College.

All were inspired by University of Georgia graduate Brandon Stanton's project, Humans of New York (HONY). What began as Stanton's project is now a popular creative outlet for shutterbugs at schools around the country.

"It was a completely new atmosphere with thousands of new people, and none of my friends from high school were going to that school with me," Martinez said. "Since I had just gotten into street photography a few months before, and also had recently discovered Humans of New York, I thought a good way to make my transition easier would be to make a similar project."

HONY's premise is simple, Stanton photographs random people on the streets of New York City for an honest portrait of the city and its inhabitants. Stanton started the website after leaving the finance industry after losing a job to a streak of bad luck, he said in his biography section of the website.

Simone Caves, creator of New York University's version of HONY, said her photographic blog on Tumblr is meant to be community oriented.

"I didn't just want interesting faces. I wanted all faces," Caves said. "I didn't want people to look at the website, see a face, and go 'Woah, they're pretty, I wish I was this cool to be photographed.' I wanted people to look at the website and see their friends and themselves. I wanted to create a sense of community, not of celebrity."

But for Martinez, it was just a way to settle in on his campus and quell his fears, and it worked.

"I really feel that I'm not as awkward as I used to be," Martinez said. "Making friends has really become a lot easier. Also, taking pictures on a daily basis has made me a better photographer. Whenever my dad talks about my blog he says, 'You can see him getting better at taking pictures as each page goes by.'"

See Now: Covert Team Inside Newsweek Revealed as Key Players in False Human Trafficking Lawsuit